Deadly Sight Read Online Free PDF Page B

“And the killing.”
    His hands clenched the steering wheel abruptly, and in the glow of the dashboard, he looked a ghastly shade of gray. He gave no other outward sign of tension, but it was enough. Her eagle eyes didn’t miss much. She spoke quietly, “Your secret is safe with me.”
    “I have no secrets,” he ground out.
    “Sure you do. You’re afraid of women. That’s why you avoid us.”
    That made him actually jerk the steering wheel. The Bronco briefly swerved, and he righted its course angrily. “I am not afraid of women!”
    So. There was passion beneath that calm, cool, collected exterior. Somehow, his outburst made him seem more human. More approachable. And a little color had returned to his face. Satisfied that he had himself back in hand, she sat back.
    “What about you?” he asked. “Why the whole leather and chains bit? The scarlet lipstick and black nails thing shouts of insecurity and need for attention.”
    He had no idea the nerve he’d just hit. She turned her head to look out the window. And there was no way she would let him see the tears in her eyes. She presented herself to the world as tough and savvy, and she wasn’t about to let down that facade.
    The interior of the Bronco went silent. She fixedly studied the mountains outside the window. Although they were not all that tall, the terrain was rugged. Steep outcroppings of rock interrupted the carpet of green trees. Here and there she spotted movement. An owl circling in the dark overhead, a coyote slinking across an open field. The night was alive, and she sank into it, becoming a part of it.
    “Do eagles hunt at night?” Gray asked without warning.
    “They can. Although their prey mostly is active during the day, so they do the bulk of their hunting in daylight.”
    “We’re coming into Spruce Hollow. Luke’s place is on the other side of town.”
    She counted buildings—gas station, small grocery store, car wash, video store. Wow. She hadn’t seen one of those in a while. And of course, a church. Several dozen modest homes clustered around the businesses. Soft lights came from a few windows, and she frowned, not placing the dim glows. Those weren’t electric. Kerosene lamps, maybe? Wow. These folks did take going off the grid seriously.
    “Don’t blink or you’ll miss the whole town,” she joked.
    “Hence my confusion over why Jeff Winston saw fit to pull us both and send us here.”
    “I get it now,” she replied quietly. “It is strange, isn’t it?”
    “Luke’s cabin is up that turnoff. I figure we need to head on down the road a bit and hike back.”
    She looked at the dirt track winding up a mountain into a heavy stand of spruce trees. She’d read before she came here that scientists had planted spruce trees inside the NRQZ in the 1950s because they believed the needles were the right length to absorb radio interference.
    “Could we at least park uphill from his place so it’s a downhill hike?” she asked.
    “You’d still have to hike back to the car.”
    “I’ll wait at the cabin and you can bring the car to pick me up. After all, you’re such a gentleman.”
    He murmured as he pulled the car off the narrow road and into the woods. “I’m not always a gentleman.”
    Her head whipped around and she stared at him in the dark. That sounded like a come-on. Surely this man was not throwing pick-up lines at her. Not after he’d so strongly signaled his complete disinterest in her earlier. His features might be easy to see, but they were not easy to read. His face was completely devoid of hints as to what he’d meant by that comment. Expressionlessness aside, the innuendo behind that comment had not been her imagination. There was definitely something going on between the two of them. A spark. Or at least friction. But what kind of friction, she had no clue.
    Gray hefted the rucksack and started off through the woods. He swore quietly as a tree branch snagged his shirt.
    “How ’bout you let the